This former Pa. congressman was Tim Walz’s roommate and says he turned his son into an Eagles fan

Tim Walz kept his apartment spotless, but the place definitely wasn’t nice.

It was 2007, and Walz was a freshman member of Congress who’d hit it off with another brand-new representative: Patrick Murphy, of Bucks County. The two had a shared history of military service and were each raising young families, so, for more than a year, they shared a Washington, D.C., apartment when they were in town for work.

“We were both in the market for the cheapest apartment we could possibly get on Capitol Hill,” Murphy recalled in an interview. “There was not a real kitchen. Like, it did not have an oven.”

Murphy, a Democrat who represented his Bucks County district in Congress for two terms, didn’t know at the time that his friend and roommate would, 15 years later, be the governor of Minnesota and the presumptive Democratic vice presidential nominee.

Now Murphy — who was also an outspoken advocate for Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a finalist for the nomination — is telling anyone who will listen about the Tim Walz he knew.

» READ MORE: Who is Tim Walz? A look at the VP nominee who beat out Shapiro

That includes defending his friend’s military record. Since Vice President Kamala Harris announced Tuesday that she chose Walz to be her running mate, Republicans have scrutinized the timing of Walz’s retirement from the Army National Guard, and seized on the fact that he did not serve in a combat zone. After serving in the military for 24 years, Walz retired in 2005 and ran for Congress just months before his unit was deployed to Iraq.

“When Tim Walz was asked by his country to go to Iraq, you know what he did? He dropped out of the Army and allowed his unit to go without him,” Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance said Wednesday. Vance was deployed to Iraq while in the Marines, but did not see combat.

Walz filed paperwork to run for Congress before his unit was notified of an impending deployment.

Murphy, an Iraq war veteran who made veterans’ affairs a key tenet of his platform as a member of Congress, pointed out that Walz was deployed to Italy in the aftermath of 9/11 as part of counterterrorism operations in Europe, and later retired honorably.

He argued that Walz’s opponents are using a playbook similar to 2004, when Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry faced scrutiny from Republicans for his Vietnam War record. The campaign to question Kerry’s service and whether he deserved his commendations was largely discredited.

“I try to uplift my brothers and sisters as veterans. I’ve never questioned [Republicans’] military service,” Murphy said. “I wish they had the honor and integrity to do the same for veterans on the other side of the aisle.”

Murphy said that in addition to seeing Walz as a military veteran, he got to know Walz as a person when they bonded over Bruce Springsteen albums. Murphy’s favorite is Born in the U.S.A.; Walz prefers Nebraska.

“He’s a barrel-chested American soldier that is inspirational, funny, and the kinda guy you want to have a beer with,” Murphy said.

While in Washington, the pair also connected over their young families. Walz’s son, Gus, was born in 2006, around the same time Murphy had a daughter and just before both of them took office. Murphy said he convinced the young Gus to become a Philadelphia Eagles fan by giving him a team T-shirt and explaining that the bald eagle is the national symbol of America.

Apparently, the elder Walz — an avowed Vikings fan — wasn’t thrilled.

“When Tim was running for governor, he said, ‘Murphy, a reporter asked my son what his favorite team was, he said the Eagles,’” Murphy recalled. “I laughed, and he said, ‘If I lose this election, I’m gonna kick your a—.’”